By Abdool A. Aziz

A YOUNG sailor had loved to be fashionable and follow the latest trend in footwear. When ‘pointed-tip’ shoes gave WAY to ‘chisel tip’ he rushed to the city and spent his entire wage on a pair of the ‘chisel tip’ type. That night, at the end of his shift, he stepped on deck showing off his expensive footwear. He placed them on the board gunwale of the ship which lay at rest for the night, tied to the stelling.

A crew member distracted him and when he turned, his elbow hit one overboard. Without hesitation, he plunged to retrieve it. He clutched it before it became submerged.

His colleague saw him leap over the gunwale. He knew the fellow was a good swimmer, so he laughed and disappeared into the forecastle. A lady standing on the deck of the stelling saw the sudden plunge too. She hustled away thinking it was a suicidal leap because it was crazy. In the dark water beneath the stelling, the distraught sailor tried to swim ashore.
But with the shoe in one hand, his attempts were hindered. So he splashed from stanchion to stanchion holding on to each to ‘catch’ his breath. And in so doing, he suffered cuts and bruises from the splintered barnacles. The salt water added insult to injury.

He struggled on alone in darkness but despite the agony, he held on to his beloved shoe. Finally, he reached shore exhausted and bleeding with his flesh on fire. He rested his ‘prize’ on his chest and fell asleep on the sand. He awoke just in time to hurry back to the ship and prepare for the early morning shift. But where was the other shoe? It was gone. One of the colleagues hid it. He was frustrated and angry.
When the ship returned on the midday run the lady who saw the plunge stepped aboard. She went straight to the sailor.

“Still alive?” she blurted
“Yes here I am, why?” he said.
She held him by the ear.
“Come!” she ordered, “Look down!”
He complied.

“See those greenheart spikes like church steeples? One could have impaled you like barbequed meat on a skewer. I was scared that would have been your terrible fate.”
He looked down again and gasped. He knelt down and thanked God for saving him. At the point of going overboard, he would have landed on spikes. Thank God, the water was high. Now it was low tide and those rotten pillars looked so horrifying. Every time his eyes saw those needle–sharp points he shivered in fear.

He didn’t wish to see those deadly objects and refused to think of that night he missed being impaled by inches for what he now considered a stupid act. He once again became a land-lubber and a social worker. He felt God saved him for a purpose. Material things are important but not above life.

He departed the ship without those shoes. No more fashion trends. The only trend he follows is the behaviour of people, especially in this ‘high tech’ world. And he offers this bit of advice: Do not court danger to marry disaster. Life is a gift from the creator-value it. Nothing material can equate it – nothing. Be a living coward than a dead hero.

Many suffer injury and death fighting to retain their possessions. For a shoe, he placed his life in harm’s way. Now he advises on the dangers of the unknown and leaping before thinking. The head, not the belly must be in charge!